NISL announces opening night dates

The entire schedule with opponents is still to be announced, but the National Indoor Soccer League (NISL) Thursday announced the home opener dates for all five teams. 

The NISL grew with two expansion franchises being added since the end of last season; those franchises being the Tampa Bay Strikers and the Central Florida Crusaders. 

For the Memphis Americans, the home opener on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023 at the Landers Center will also be the season opener for the entire league.

The Americans women’s team is looking to defend their title from the 2021-2022 season, and the men’s team is looking to improve from their loss in the 2021-2022 NISL championship game.

The Strikers will get their first taste of league action in their home opener on Sunday, Jan. 29 at Yuengling Center.

The bulk of each team’s 16-game league schedule will be held in the months of February – April, with eight home and eight away contests.

The Columbus Rapids kick off their NISL home opener on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

On Sunday, Feb. 5th the expansion Central Florida Crusaders will host their home opener.

Finally, the Fayetteville Fury have their home opener on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Crown Coliseum.

The Rome (Georgia) Gladiators last year played a schedule that had them playing on the road the entire season, as they could not obtain a home arena to play in. The Gladiators will not play at all this season but are expected to return to the league and compete next year.  

NISL home openers:

Memphis Americans (Landers Center)

• Friday, Jan. 20

Tampa Bay Strikers (Yuengling Center)

• Sunday, Jan. 29

Columbus Rapids (Columbus Civic Center)

• Wednesday, Feb. 1 

Central Florida Crusaders (Addition Financial Arena)

• Sunday, Feb. 5

Fayetteville Fury (Crown Coliseum)

• Saturday, Feb. 18

Season tickets are on sale in each market and are currently featuring team apparel incentives with each full-season ticket purchase for a limited time. To purchase season tickets in one of our five markets, fans can visit each team’s website:

• Central Florida Crusaders – https://www.cflcrusaders.com/season-tickets 
• Columbus Rapids – https://www.columbusrapids.com/season-tickets 
• Fayetteville Fury – https://www.fayettevillefury.com/season-tickets 
• Memphis Americans – https://www.memphisamericans.com/season-tickets 
• Tampa Bay Strikers – https://www.tbstrikers.com/season-tickets 

Game times for all matches will be announced with the full season schedule release and that is expected to come later this month.